London Tier 1 Buyside Recruiters List

These are the names I've been able to get so far for Tier 1 PE / HF recruitment in London:

Arkesden
Dartmouth
PER
Blackwood
KEA
Hinton Rose
Mirage
CPI
Dynamic
Oxbridge
Sousou

Am I missing any? Are there any Tier 1 recruiters in London specific to HFs?

 

What I know: -they reach out to most suitable candidates (eg BB analysts 1) -talk to them figure who wants what (PE? HF? VC?) -allocate to interviews -for every candidate they place they get a commission typically a % of their salary for first X years - paid by employer, yes

Surely someone will be able to expand on this. I only know briefly

 

Thanks for the reply @Banananker.

Several questions for anyone knowledgeable about the subject:

So how proactive can one actually be in all this (networking)? Can you cold call/email them and get yourself on their radar, or do they usually dig you out through their sources? Do they push candidates to accept offers or even interview and is it all right if one declines to interview with various firms that HH has found for them if they have something else in mind.

I would guess that the best analysts at top shops get spammed by HHs but I am also not sure if those top tier HH firms even bother to talk to candidates that do not have the best pedigree.

I am also interested how do they actually figure out who is the top bucket analyst where and so on? I haven't ever seen somebody disclosing that on their resume or linkedin profile. I would also guess that companies are not allowed to make this public info so they must have some insider connection?

Lastly, how early should one start to network with recruiters for potential opportunities? e.g. from the first day of the job in BB IB etc... or?

 
Best Response

This is all from personal experience, so sorry in advance if some people disagree. My background is London BB IBD > L/S HF.

Recruiters: KEA and Blackwood are the best in terms of access to HF and MF PE. KEA can sometimes be dicks though if you're not at a top team in GS / MS / JPM. Some top HF jobs can also come through completely random one/two-man recruitment shops. I don't know as much about PE recruiting but I think OP broadly has all of the right names.

Networking: LinkedIn is typically the first point of contact. Make sure your profile is filled out, and emphasise your deal experience and keywords like valuation, fundamental analysis, financial modelling, etc (sounds dumb but recruiters do search for these things). If you think you can get away with it, consider stating what strategies you're interested in on your profile (e.g. long/short value investing, merger-arb, private equity, etc.)

You can also cold call / email (more effective if you know someone who can make an introduction, particularly if you're not at a top bank)

When talking to buyside recruiters, make sure you have a firm idea of what you want to do, and your motivations behind it You should know whether you want to do PE or HF, and within those, what strategies you're interested in, and also have an idea of the shops you would like to join. HHs will not make any effort with you if they think you're undecided. If you have done your homework, they will feel a lot more confident putting you in for interviews. Tell them about investing books / blogs you have read, your personal investing experience, etc and you're in. If you're genuinely interested in buyside, this shouldn't be difficult.

Re: top bucket, HHs may find out through knowing other people at your shop. I'm not sure there is any other way of verifying, but don't lie. To be honest, none of the HFs I interviewed with really cared at all (I suspect MF PE might care a little more though).

On timing, I recommend starting to network actively towards the end of your first year, especially if you want to do PE (they have more standardised recruiting timetables, and they seem to start earlier and earlier). HF hiring is more sporadic (apart from the large multi-managers e.g. DE Shaw, Citadel, Och Ziff). Most London buyside firms hire after 2-4 years banking. 3 years is probably the most common exit point.

Interviews and Offers: I had a mixed experience in terms of getting pushed to do interviews and accept offers. My advice is to take as many (relevant) interviews as you can - always helpful to get experience and network. You shouldn't be pushed into taking interviews / offers you don't want. At the end of the day, it's your career and your decision, and unless you dick around and interview for jobs you obviously don't want, no one will get upset with you.

 
Banananker:

These are the names I've been able to get so far for Tier 1 PE / HF recruitment in London:

Arkesden
Dartmouth
PER
Blackwood
KEA
Hinton Rose
Mirage
CPI
Dynamic
Oxbridge
Sousou

Am I missing any? Are there any Tier 1 recruiters in London specific to HFs?

is there any specific list for HH who focus on placing ACA qualified people (but perhaps with no direct TS/CF experience) into roles? Or will just about any HH be able to do this (obviously bigger names better much so than random shops)

also out of interest, what are thoughts on Cornell Partnership & Dartmouth Partners? They seem quite sleek but I was wondering if theres any substance behind all the gloss. I see Dartmouth is in the original list...but they were spun out from Cornell. Are they already better? What about Circle Square and Greenwich Partners?

thanks for any replies if anyone has any :). hopefully will be able to use original list at some point too.

 

Buyside is broad definition. If you are referring to HFs the list is def not tier 1. Some dont even cover HFs. My experience is that there is many one-man-shows and despite Hinton (mainly distressed) there is not a shop covering it all across the cap structure. Many HFs dont use HHs in Ldn, but their infamous fam and friends network. Found being invited is the easiest part, but requirements are extremely narrow (eg "we need Spanish speaker with Energy experience and CFA").

 

Investment Management Partners I have found to be excellent. They focus just on the buyside and irrespective of whether or not they can find you a job, they have always been extremely helpful with advice.

 

Anyone have any updates on this - trying to make the hop across the pond

 

Haven't reached out yet but thinking about it. Have you had any experience doing it? I'm not a UK citizen so not sure how to handicap my odds

 

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